One of the most controversial aspects of the 2010 NFL season was the manner in which the league got stricter with discipline for dangerous hits. It could get even tougher.
Ray Anderson, the league's chief disciplinarian, said Wednesday in a conference call that repeat offenders or players committing flagrant illegal hits will have a much greater chance of being suspended during the 2011 season.
No suspensions were handed down in 2010 even after the NFL's crackdown on such hits, in part because "we were operating under the principle unless you have given sufficient advance notice of what the results could be, you need to be more lenient," Anderson said.
I know a lot of people are not huge fans of this, but I think it is the right way to go. There is a clear distinction between hard play and dangerous play. Players should be able to control themselves. For ones who fail to do so on a consistent basis, the threat of being taken off the field might be the only thing that can motivate them to tone it down.